By Peter Oliver –Catholic Health Association of Saskatchewan

Ron Rolheiser column for the Week of March 19 2023

Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. These words of Jesus apply not just to those who are ordained to ministry and administer the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but to everyone inside the body of Christ. All of us have the power to bind and to loose.

What is this power? How do we bind and loose each other on earth in a way that engages heaven?

One part of this allows for some easier explanation. Here’s an example: If you are a member of the Body of Christ and you forgive someone, Christ forgives that person and he or she is loosed from sin. Likewise, if you, as part of the Body of Christ, love someone and remain connected to him or her, that person is connected to the Body of Christ and through you (biblically) touches the hem of Christ’s garment, even if he or she is not explicitly confessing that. That is one of the incredible gifts given us in the incarnation.

But what about the reverse? Suppose I refuse to forgive someone who has wounded me in some way; suppose I hold grudges and refuse to let go of the wrong that another has done to me, am I binding that person in sin? Does God also refuse to forgive and let go because I refuse to forgive and let go? How does the Body of Christ work regarding the “binding” part of the power that Jesus gave us?

This is a difficult question, though a couple of preliminary distinctions can shed some light on the issue.

To begin with, the logic of grace – and grace, like love, has a logic – only works one way. In grace, just as in love, you can be gifted beyond what you deserve, but the reverse is not true. The algebra of undeserved grace works only one way. Love can give you more than you deserve, but it cannot punish you more than you deserve. God gives us the power to set each other free, but not the same kind of power to keep each other in bondage.

Second, in this life, as C.S. Lewis used to say, hell can blackmail heaven, but this is not true in the other realm. Thus, while we can hold each other captive, psychologically, and emotionally, on this side, God does not ratify those actions.

When we bind each other here in this world by refusing to forgive each other, that refusal does not bind God to do likewise. Put more simply, when I hold a grudge against someone who has wronged me, keeping him constantly aware that he has done wrong, I am keeping that person tied to their sin – but God isn’t endorsing this. Heaven will not go along with my emotional blackmail.

These distinctions though provide only an ambience for an understanding of this. What does it mean to bind a person?

The Christian power to bind and loose is the power to bind and loose in conscience, in truth, in goodness, and in love. When I refuse to forgive another, when I hold a grudge, I am acting not as the Body of Christ, nor as an agent of grace, but precisely as part of the very chain of sin and helplessness that Christ was trying to break. When I act this way, it is I who need to be loosed from sin since I am acting contrary to grace. My non-forgiveness may well bind another person emotionally, keeping her bound in that way to her sin, but it is the very antithesis of the power that Christ gave us.

Biblically, we bind each other when, in love, we refuse to compromise truth and when we refuse to give each other permission to take false liberties and make bad choices. Thus, for example, parents bind their children when they, lovingly but clearly, refuse to give them permission to ignore Christ’s teaching on marriage and sexuality. We bind a friend when we refuse to give him our approval to cheat in his business in order to make more money. A friend binds you when she refuses to bless your moral compromises.

In Robert Bolt’s play, A Man for All Seasons, we see Henry VIII literally beg Thomas More to bless his marriage to Anne Boleyn. Henry appeals to their friendship, appeals to their shared humanity, and tries to morally bully Thomas by telling him that his refusal to approve is timidity and arrogance. Yet Thomas refuses to approve. He binds Henry in conscience and Henry knows he is bound. In the end, he kills Thomas for his refusal to compromise and give permission, to (biblically) loose him.

Ever since God took on concrete human flesh, grace has a visible human dimension. Heaven is watching earth – and is letting itself be helped by the best of what we do down here, but not bound by the worst of what we do down here.

Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser is a theologian, teacher, and award-winning author. He can be contacted through his website www.ronrolheiser.com. Now on Facebook www.facebook.com/ronrolheiser

Ash Wednesday • February 17th
Mass with the Distribution of Ashes
7:30 AM • 12:05 PM • 5:10 PM
Pre-Registration for Parishioners after this weekend’s Masses
or by calling the Parish office during the week.
Registration for others begins February 12th.

A pdf of this letter is available here

Dear Parishioners,

I want to share my words of gratitude to all of you, parishioners of Blessed Sacrament Parish. These have been challenging times for all of us but I have experienced your love and support in the midst of these difficulties. Even if you have not been able to join the community in the Eucharist over the past months, each of us has come to know the love of the Lord Jesus in the little acts of kindness and the support which we have extended to each other. At each Eucharist, I and our community assembled pray for all members of the parish and most especially those who are experiencing some distress because of the pandemic.

Pope Francis, speaking recently (for World Mission Day), highlights how important it is that we all be missionaries of compassion in these times:

In these days of pandemic, when there is a temptation to disguise and justify indifference and apathy in the name of healthy social distancing, there is urgent need for the mission of compassion, which can make that necessary distancing an opportunity for encounter, care and promotion. “What we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20), the mercy we have experienced, can thus become a point of reference and a source of credibility, enabling us to recover a shared passion for building “a community of belonging and solidarity worthy of our time, our energy and our resources (Fratelli Tutti, 36)… In our present circumstances, there is an urgent need for missionaries of hope who, anointed by the Lord, can provide a prophetic reminder that no one is saved by himself.

As followers of Christ, I believe all of us should recognize that we must be missionaries of hope to one another by bearing witness to the presence of the Lord in our lives. This should mark us as members of this community of the sacrament of the presence of the Lord, the Blessed Sacrament.

In the parish bulletin for last Sunday (January 24th), I included excerpts from documents of the Vatican and of Canadian bishops about the morality of taking the covid-19 vaccine when it becomes available to us. These articles explain that the Church teaches that it is indeed moral to do so despite information to the contrary. Around the time Pope Francis and Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI were vaccinated, Francis said  “I believe that ethically everyone should take the vaccine… It is an ethical choice because you are gambling with your health, with your life, but you are also gambling with the lives of others.” While taking the vaccine is indeed a personal choice, I want to be a missionary of hope and state that each of us has a duty to protect others from infection with its danger of serious illness, and for some, death. A vaccine is the most effective way to achieve this unless one decides to self-isolate.

Since we will continue to struggle against this virus for some more months and if you feel vulnerable in any way, I urge you to stay safe. Yet if you do feel you are able to attend Mass here at your parish, you are welcome during the week at the midday 12:05 PM Eucharist without pre-registering. If you wish to attend Mass on Saturday or Sunday, please call the Parish Office in the afternoon (Tuesday to Friday) to put your name on the list.

Finally, on behalf of the Parish Pastoral and Finance Councils, I thank you for your financial support for our parish during the pandemic. Some of you are suffering financially because of the pandemic and so your continued support is even more generous. Thank you.

May the God of mercy, in our prayer with the compassionate mother Mary, continue to guide us, protect us and accompany us during this pandemic.

Peace, 

Fr. James Hentges
Administrator

Strength for this Challenging Time

O God of Infinite goodness,

We pray for your love and compassion to abound
as we walk through this challenging season.

We ask for wisdom for those who bear the load
of making decisions with widespread consequences.

We pray for those who are suffering with sickness
and all who are caring for them.

We ask for protection for the elderly and vulnerable
to not succumb to the risks of the virus.

We pray for misinformation to be curbed
that fear may take no hold in hearts and minds. 

As we exercise the good sense that you in your mercy provide,
may we also approach each day in faith and peace,
trusting in the truth of your goodness towards us.

We pray through Christ our Lord.

The Parish Bulletin is available for January 31st,  Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

You will find this week’s weekly report from the Archdiocese of Regina here.

The full text of Pope Francis’ Encyclical “Fratelli Tutti” is available online:

• English
• Français

The current parish bulletin is available online.

The bulletin for the weekend of August 1st/2nd is available online in pdf format.

Our beloved Msgr Michael Hogan has gone home to be with the Lord. Msgr Hogan passed away on April 21st after a brief hospitalization. Please pray for the repose of Msgr Hogan’s soul and for comfort and consolation to his family and brother priests.

The Funeral Mass for Msgr Michael Hogan will be live streamed (link will be posted later) from Holy Rosary Cathedral on Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 10:30 a.m..  Please continue to pray for the repose of the soul of Msgr Hogan’s.

SPECIAL NOTE:  In 2012 for the Year of the Priests several interviews were done with some of the older priests.  At this time it might be nice to watch this interview and remember Msgr. Hogan.  The link is: https://youtu.be/e5doYKDxC_Y